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Diversion to Boston

I am flying as captain, and this is my first flight over the Atlantic from Orly to John F. Kennedy after familiarization and route check flights with two different captains, Iftekhar Janjua, deceased in A300 Kathmandu crash, and Capt Sajid Quraishi, deceased, respectively.

First Officer Asif Akhtar and Flight Engineer Mahmood are the other members of the cockpit along with a flight attendant. This a fully loaded freighter and we carry no passengers. At the apron at Orly airport, First Officer Asif Akhtar had told me that he wanted to be thorough with his pre-flight checks on the aircraft and didn’t want to rush. I had told him to take all the time he wanted and not to feel pushed by the schedule.

Departure Orly is on schedule at 1235Z (Z= UTC) , and after climb and cruise, while routing over the English Channel, southern England, the Atlantic Ocean, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and into New York State, we start the descent about 120 miles from Kennedy for a landing there. We have been checking the weather en-route, and also were briefed prior to departure from Orly about what to expect at New York. The weather forecast at our arrival is marginal; meaning it can deteriorate below our acceptable level, the weather minimums, in terms of visibility and cloud ceiling.

We also have the alternate weather handy, but that isn’t good either, since the weather seems to be approaching New York from the south and our alternates lie there. They are Washington D.C. (Dulles), and Baltimore, Maryland. We have received the actual weather prevailing at New York City by tuning the navigation receiver, the VOR, which has a voice feature which broadcasts the updated weather continuously along with the barometric pressure, wind velocity, instrument arrival procedure and the runway in use. On first contact with the Approach Radar Control on the VHF radio, you just tell them that you have the latest weather.

At an altitude of 6000 feet above sea level and some 25 nautical miles from Kennedy (Deer Park), we are asked by the New York Approach Control Radar to hold at intersection “Mike” for traffic purposes. For this we slow down to the holding speed of 210 Knots and enter the racetrack holding pattern. We are also in contact with our company on their VHF radio channel passing our arrival information.

At this time, the Radar gives a weather update directly to us in form of an indefinite delay over ‘Mike’, deteriorating visibility, rising wind velocity and an altimeter setting (barometric pressure) as unreadable.

The pressure is falling so rapidly that the radar cannot give a definite figure. There is a storm about to hit New York.

We are on an Instrument Flight Plan, meaning we can hold for 30 minutes over “Mike” at the most and would then have to divert to an alternate airport if not permitted to approach and land at Kennedy. We are legally allowed to make one attempt to land at Kennedy, and if unable, make an overshoot and proceed directly to the filed alternate. Now we are advised that the alternates to the south of New York are not available because they are below weather minimums, and so I make an instant decision to divert to Boston to the north asking First Officer Asif to request permission for a diversion from the Radar.

The Radar clears us immediately to a higher level and gives a heading vector to steer for Boston. The next few minutes go in a frenzy of tasks as we are responding to the changing radar heading directions, climbing in stages as cleared, leveling off and descending immediately for Boston. Such agility is required that we are on final approach to the runway at Boston after being guided by the radar, but there has been no time for me to open the Jeppesen Manual to takeout the instrument landing system arrival chart for the airport.

I hastily ask Flight Engineer Mahmood to get me the pages, the First Officer is ready with his charts and I have to concentrate on being a true Christian (maintaining a cross with the needles of the flight director instrument) as we approach at short final and touch down at Boston, breaking clouds at 200 feet above ground in marginal visibility. We are followed by few more arrivals from the New York area and then the airport closes.. It is below weather minimums here also. So what a timely decision that had been and a correct one in the heat of the moment. The time is 2200Z or 1800 EDT.

Here I would like to mention the able assistance I received from First Officer Asif Akhtar and Flight Engineer Mahmood who were with me all along and thinking ahead of the aircraft. They were professionals, and a source of great relief to me. First Officer Asif also remembered to file the takeoff alternate at Boston when we continued our journey to Kennedy after a lapse of two hours.

BOEING 707-First US JET AIRLINER

The first prototype designated 376-80 (N70700) flew for the first time on 15 July, 1954 and revolutionized air transport after Pan Am introduced it on scheduled services from New York to Europe on 26th October 1958. With its four low-slung jet engines, low swept wings and tailfin with antenna at top; low-set tail plane and graceful lines, the 707 ended up spanning the world’s oceans and became a familiar sight at airports worldwide, becoming one of the most successful civilian transports ever built, with production of 878 aircraft. It became the standard long-distance airliner for almost all the world airlines. It is a testament to the superb initial design that a large number of this aircraft remain in civilian use 50 years after the type entered service.

When the 707 entered service, passengers could not believe how smooth flying could be compared to propeller-driven aircraft. Now these wonderful jetliners of the 1960s are referred to as “narrow body” ships because they gave way, beginning in 1970s, to “wide cabin” types like the 747 and DC-10. But every jetliner that flew, regardless of its size or shape, owes a debt to the Boeing 707 which came along just when it was needed. The model 720 was similar in general appearance with shorter fuselage and more efficient engines and was an intermediate-range development of the 707. Total production was 154 aircraft.